Law

New Equity and Opportunity Studies Fellowship Available to Rutgers–Newark Law and Graduate School Students

The Center on Law in Metropolitan Equity (CLiME) at Rutgers School of Law–Newark and the Graduate School at Rutgers University–Newark have announced a new fellowship for law and graduate students interested in publishing interdisciplinary research on issues related to equity and opportunity in northern New Jersey.

The Rutgers–Newark Equity and Opportunity Studies Fellowship aims to promote interdisciplinary study and public scholarship about the structure of place-based inequality. The one-year fellowship, which begins in the Fall 2014 semester, is open to all students in the Graduate School–Newark and Rutgers School of Law–Newark. All application materials must be submitted online by 8 pm on Wednesday, September 10, 2014.

While separate from students’ degree/unit requirements, the initiative will provide opportunities to collaborate with students and faculty from other Rutgers departments. For example, law students interested in segregation and local government law may study alongside Public Health and Psychology students interested in the stress reactions common in segregated neighborhoods. Similarly, graduate students in Urban Systems or Political Science studying the incidence and reduction of achievement gaps may collaborate with law students pursuing inter-district educational choice remedies under New Jersey law. 

Up to a total of 10 law and graduate students will each receive a $1,500 stipend for participation in the program.

The Fellowship year is divided into three parts: 

  • Fall semester workshops: Fellows will participate in four half-day workshops on topics such as fair housing, public finance or criminal justice and public health.
  • Spring semester coursework: Fellows will identify a paper advisor from their own or another department and design a research project. They must then enroll in a course that specifically advances the research on their chosen topic, such as “Race, Class and Metropolitan Equity” at the law school. 
  • Summer writing: Students have the summer to complete a publishable paper of at least 25 pages. The paper will be published electronically on the CLiME and Graduate School websites and together in limited hard copy release. The fellowship will culminate with an annual public scholarship conference in the fall at which fellows (and others) will present their papers.